For some reason this weekend it just really hit me that this is really working Calorie counting works! I used to be one of those people who tried all the diets out there avoiding calorie counting because it's just too hard. How can you count every single thing you eat? But with all the computer programs (free programs!) out there it is so easy.
Here are my main reason for loving calorie counting:
1) It really feels like a life style change and not a diet.
2) Nothing is off limits, I try to eat healthy most of the time but I can have ice cream occasionally I just have to count it in with my calories for the day.
3) I don't feel left out when it comes to special events or eating out. I can do both with a little pre-planning.
4) I am losing weight steadly and I feel like I'm not even trying
I love DailyPlate - it makes all my logging so easy, and definitely helps me realize if I'm on-plan or not. I log in a zillion times a day, so there is no way for me to go off-plan without making a conscious decision to do so. And like you, I believe calorie counting works! It's not some fad diet; it's a simple formula of reducing the calories you eat by eating less and moving more. LOVE it.
I honestly feel better since I started counting, and that in itself is enough. I have a scale on the way in the mail and when it gets here I am sure i will love watching my weight drop in a real honest number. it honestly feels good just knowing that I am doing a better job on taking care of my body.
I love the fact there is little room for error. Calories are listed on all food products, you can find most national chain restaurants on-line or reasonably estimate foods from other restaurants.
If you diligently read labels and measure your food you can't really go wrong. This is really a learned behavior - the longer you do this the more intuitive it becomes.
I am a hard facts person - the numbers don't lie when you take the time to log.
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I love it because I can customize it, to my liking. I also like it because it because I'm the type of person who likes to write down everything. And of course it works!!!
Like the others have said. Nothing is off limits. I hate being told I can't eat something. As soon as that happens, I want it. I was on cholesterol meds once. It was on the side of the bottle that I couldn't have grapefruit. I started wanting grapefruit so badly! I can't eat nuts, seeds or corn for medical reasons.
However, that leaves everything else open for me. Fit Day, calorie counting and 3FC. It's all the best for me.
What everyone else said, AND, calorie counting is great for maintaining your weight loss, once you've lost all your weight. The transition from losing weight to maintaining weight is relatively seamless--it just requires figuring out how many calories you can have and what the best way to use them is. Then it becomes habitual, in the same way that counting calories for weight loss becomes habitual. Almost everyone down in maintainers, regardless of how they lost their weight, counts calories to maintain. That should tell us something.
What everyone else said and:
I feel that I am in control. I am learning to do this. I don't have someone telling me what to eat, or when to eat it.
And baffled really hit the home run. I can take weight off with a multitude of plans. But the downfall of those plans is that once I "go off" I slowly put the weight back on. This last time it took 8 years, but I gained back every ounce. I really feel that calorie counting is something I can do forever and really be successful - once and for all
Before I started calorie counting, but still was 'dieting', I felt like I overate every day. Doesn't matter what I ate, how much or little of it, every day I felt bad like I had overeaten. I didn't actually know how much I had consumed but I still had that feeling... I felt disgusting, like I should never eat again.
With calorie counting, I know exactly how much is passing my lips and that I have NOT overeaten, that in fact I ate as much as I should and that I will lose weight if I continue with it. And that's why I love calorie counting.
~It WORKS. Almost all diet plans, whether you are doing Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers, or whatever-are based on calories ANYHOW.
~It is FREE. I don't need to join and pay a fee, or buy anyone's supplements, or sign any contract.
~I can eat what I like. If I don't like apples, I don't have to eat apples. There are a thousand other fruit choices in the market. I eat what fruits and vegetables I like, not what someone else puts on a plan.
~I can have a treat occasionally, and it is okay. I like a glass of wine, or a bit of dark chocolate now and then, and this way I can have it.
I agree with what everyone has said here. It is so easy, and I feel like I can keep this up for the rest of my life. Since I started, I always take a look at the nutrition label, even if I'm not actively trying to lose weight. I subconsciously make better choices.
Why Do You Love Calorie Counting???
Calorie counting works! I used to be one of those people who tried all the diets out there avoiding calorie counting because it's just too hard. How can you count every single thing you eat? But with all the computer programs (free programs!) out there it is so easy. 
